The Oracle

Chapter 1

It all began that day. That warm spring day, where the azure sky was littered with white clouds, and when the birds sang, when the flowers bloomed. Nerrianda, my twin sister, and I were playing in the field. We were playing our usual game of "Treasure Hunt", a game where we would have to find the most curious of nature's treasures. And the game never failed to surprise. Only last week, I had found a bird's nest interwoven with sun-coloured thread, and Nerrianda a shimmering bird's feather.

"Hey! Tim! Look what I found!" Nerrianda flourished two halves of a stone, the centre of which held blue crystalline rock.

I looked around frantically for something to counter her treasure. Quickly grabbing some blades of grass, I remembered something the elders had taught me.

"Well this is way cooler. This grass here filters out the air that we breathe-"

"I already know that, dummy! Anyway, this rock beats that grass! Look how blue it is! It's even more blue than the ink the scribes use in their scrolls!"

She did have a point. I reluctantly admitted my loss.

"Hey, aren't you two supposed to be back in the town centre?"

Our eyes flitted to the newcomer, our aunt Jacaranda. She had a kind, warm face framed with light brown hair, the same brown hair that Nerrianda had. Aunt Jacaranda was young, 5 years younger than our mother, who was 30.

"Your Lana's calling for you. Come on now!"

As we approached the town square, we could hear screams of terror increasing in volume and quantity. We rounded the corner to see a total massacre. Evil, hulking, demon-like creatures paraded the square, grabbing everyone within reach and stuffing them into a caravan. Those who resisted were thrown, sprawling on the cobblestones, before being stuffed yet again into the caravan. Then, a demon standing on top of the caravan spotted us and shouted out a command we couldn't understand. Jacaranda, Nerrianda and I ducked back behind the structure, and we ran. Jacaranda started shouting out instructions to us.

"You two have to stick together! Those creatures will try everything in their power to kill you guys! When we reach the paddock, I want you to run into the forest, to the cliffs. Stay there until someone meets up with you. I'll give you time to run. Now!"

Jacaranda turned to face our attackers and fended them off with a conveniently placed stick on the ground. But there were two attackers, not one, and black, inky claws shot out towards Nerrianda and myself. I was able to duck just in time, but Nerrianda was torn from my side.

"NO!"

The demonic creatures leapt with inhuman speed back to the town centre, shouting out more commands, and I instantly saw yet another one peering at me from the rooftops of the village. I ran into the forest, keeping an eye on the monster behind me. Unfortunately, I didn't see where I was going and I ran straight off a steep slope. The world turned upside down, and the perfect blue sky met my eyes.

Then everything went black.

When I awoke, I could hear the crackling of a fire. I rolled over to face the fire, then winced in pain at how sore I was. Then I remembered. The monsters. Jacaranda and Nerrianda being torn from my side. Running off a cliff. There was a tall, slim figure standing, facing the fire. She looked... maybe 20, or 21. She had dark, shiny hair that was fastened loosely with several ribbons and purple, almost pink, glowing eyes. Her skin was the colour of dark honey and she was shrouded in a dark, flowing cape.

"You're finally awake. Nice to meet you, My name is Roxanne. And you are Timothy, yes?"

"Y-yeah."

"Here. Some broth."

I accepted the bowl, my hands trembling.

"Eat up. We travel at first light, tomorrow. We can talk more then."

"W-what happened to my twin?"

Roxanne showed shock and realisation on her face for a split second before recomposing herself.

"They'll be fine. Rest, alright?"

Roxanne walked away from the campsite, taking out a shiny, rectangular stone which she pressed a few times before holding it up to her ear. She seemed to be having a conversation with something inside the device. I shrugged it off and continued to eat. But my sharp ears caught parts of her conversation.

"Shuto.....east....burden....move....camp..."

I shut myself off from her speech. The parts that I heard were too detached for me to decipher. I set my bowl down, stomach full. Looking at my surroundings, I recognised that we were not anywhere near my village. Putting the niggling sensation of worry to the edge of my thoughts, I drifted into a restless sleep.

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Hello! So yeah, this is the story that Shadow of the Wings is being transferred to. Some of the concepts will be the same, some won't, some characters will be different, some won't. If you can't already tell, Luca is Timothy and Kiana is Nerrianda. And this time, they're related! Through blood! Yay! Merry Christmas Eve people!